[Article] Lord Mayor claims he has God on his side in half-day row

parsi

Originally posted by dahamsta
You mean like the bishop coming round and handing out lollies and sweeties? That was the coolest thing about catholicism. Probably the only cool thing. I remember the year a bishop came round and handed out some kind of vicious-looking rosary ring thing, there was war. I'll bet there's still a few scars around Cork caused by those bloody things.

Go Lord Mayor. The Lord Mayor's half-day was the berries, it would be terrible to take it away from this generation.

Bonkey, don't make light of Cork traditions or we'll start waxing lyrical about some other ones...

adam

AT the primary school my youngfella is going to the half-day closing means 11.15 - at that rate they might as well not go to school at all and we'll have to take the morning off because there's no way we can leave work at 11.15 (unless the Mayor calls to us first )

Victor

Originally posted by star gazer
If there were difficulties schools should be asked to supervise kids on the aforementioned half days until the the normal school finishing time is reached, It wouldn't take more than one or two teachers at a guess to supervise them.

Of course, seeing as the teachers are being paid anyway ..... or they'll claim tradition and that working full time will require extra pay. :rolleyes:

star gazer

Of course, seeing as the teachers are being paid anyway ..... or they'll claim tradition and that working full time will require extra pay.
victor

I guess since they only work for half the year for a full year's pay, they might try the same for working half the day.

cornell babe

Originally posted by Victor
... education? Honestly, whats the world coming to? :rolleyes:

OK, how about this. One of the guys in my class (inner suburb) lived something like 14 miles from the school (no idea why). Whats he going to do between lunchtime and bustime?

uh.. get an earlier bus???

i lived 17 miles away.
(the reason... it was nice to have the odd subject choice)


and i turned out educationally sound....

however those long bus journeys did nothing for my mental health....

i don't see what all the big fuss is about.

Victor

Originally posted by cornell babe
uh.. get an earlier bus???

There was no bus for about a 3 hour gap.

Lord Mayor's half-day to continue in Cork
October 7, 2003
(13:42)

The 80-year-old tradition of Cork schoolchildren getting a Lord Mayor's half-day is to continue.

Education Minister Noel Dempsey had written to the city's Lord Mayor Councillor, Colm Burke, saying the half-days would be in breach of the social partnership agreement standardising school holidays.

But as the Lord Mayor began the first of over 90 school visits last week, several schools, including Christian Brothers College and Scoil Mhuire, defied the minister's ban.

The move to ban the half-day provoked outrage in the city where the tradition has been observed since 1920 when it was started by then Lord Mayor Terence McSwiney.

McSwiney later died on hunger strike in Brixton Prison in London, where he was imprisoned for recognising Dáil Éireann.

In a letter to the Lord Mayor last week, the minister said that once schools stick to the agreed standardisation, they have local flexibility.

Move welcomed in Cork

Welcoming the move, Lord Mayor Burke said he was very happy with the decision but said it was a pity the Minister did not clarify his position before this.

Teachers have also welcomed the decision. Cork ASTI spokesperson Maria Kelly said the minister had to realise that when it comes to local arrangements, he has to respect the wishes of local people.

Now, in honour of tradition, we just have to starve the Lord Mayor for 90 half days! (altogether)